Nathan Ake

[Hutch]

Source is goal.com but it does include plenty of direct quotes.

Feyenoord sporting director Leo Beenhakker claims English clubs are ‘spoiling the market’ as Chelsea snap up youngster Nathan Ake Dutchman says other clubs around Europe don’t behave like this

Feyenoord sporting director Leo Beenhakker has expressed his dismay with Chelsea's transfer antics after they lured promising youngster Nathan Ake away from the Rotterdam side before they could offer him a professional contract.

The young defender turns 16 in February 2011 and Feyenoord were desperate to offer him a professional deal immediately after.

However, Ake, who was also linked with Manchester City, has now decided to join Chelsea instead.

"I've discussed this matter with Nathan and his parents. He told me that he really wanted to move to England and his parents were okay with his decision," Beenhakker told Algemeen Dagblad.

"I was impressed with Nathan's determination at such a young age, but it's obviously bad news for Feyenoord. We can't do anything about it if a foreign club comes up to sign one of our youngsters.

"It's driving me crazy that hot prospects are walking away from us like this. The Premier League clubs spoil the market with their behaviour. Other clubs in Europe aren't doing this kind of things, but the English sides just don't care."

Chelsea often sign young players with the view of nurturing them before they make it into the first team.

Gael Kakuta joined the club from Lens in 2007 but received a four-month ban and a fine for his troubles after being seen to breach his contract with the French side in order to join the Blues.

Chelsea also received a transfer ban which was eventually lifted on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Feyenoord previously lost current Dutch international Jeffrey Bruma to Chelsea in similar fashion, while they saw Kyle Ebecilio leaving Rotterdam for Arsenal.

Chelsea will have to pay Feyenoord €270.000 (£228,000) compensation for the services of the 15-year-old Ake, who can play in both midfield and defence.

LINK

[Backbiter]

It's a difficult one. While it's gutting for any club to lose its best players, we aren't doing anything wrong, we're just exploiting the rules as they stand. And any club with ambition has a duty to sign up the best talent it can in a free market. I can't believe it's only English clubs who do this.

[sizzler85]

It is easier for people to blame the english clubs because they think we have become rich and high spending in quick time . Signing talented youngsters is fair and I don't see that as a wrong doing .

Welcome Nathan Ake !

[dkw]

Clubs have done this for years, Spanish clubs have never had a problem with taking young players from round the world, and the youth set up at Ajax has had plenty of foreign kids in it. Seems were just an easy target at times.

[abramovich]

Arsenal built their whole team using these tactics.

As long as we don't break any laws and compensate the clubs in question, we should be ok.

[Scooby Blue]

I can understand Feyenoord's frustration, but having quickly googled the lads name, it appears he joined them from a smaller Dutch top flight club ADO Den Haag when he was 12. Pots and kettles anyone.

Found a Feyenoord fan on some random forum clutching at straws.....

Dutch_FR1908

Rotterdam Loyal! Join Date: 17-02-2010

Location: The land of a thousand pepperoni's

Posts: 558

Re: Chelsea snap up another 15 year old Dutch youth player

Quote:

Originally Posted by david91

Did Feyenoord sign those 15 year olds from smaller Dutch teams?

Some of them have, But those clubs get compensated by Feyenoord and a percentage of a future sale. Now with Chelsea signing him both clubs potentially stand to lose money if he becomes a success. Part of the money we received for Ake will go to his youth squad as he joined Feyenoord when he was 12.

But the point I am trying to make is that it's absurd that clubs such as Chelsea,Arsenal,Man Utd. and Liverpool can sign kids under 16 year old while the club who spent time and resources training them can only stand by and watch.

Yes both clubs miss out, but his original club missed out on a potentially larger fee when he left them in the first place.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Scooby Blue

[Planet Drogba]

Don't go after us; go after UEFA.

[mad_mac]

Italian sides have done it with clubs in eastern Europe, Spanish clubs have done it with South American teams, I don't see what the fuss is so long as we've not snatched him or broken a contact, as we did with Kakuta

[Valerie]

Upsetting Feyenoord, especially that loathesome upstart Beenhakker, is a good thing, trust me

Welkom bij Chelsea, Nathan!

[ethicalstrategy]

Welkom bij Chelsea, Nathan!

I wouldn't have thought that typing with one hand would have affected your spelling quite so badly Val.

[Valerie]

I wouldn't have thought that typing with one hand would have affected your spelling quite so badly Val.

And my brain too, btw!

[undertow]

I hope it won't be only his looks that'll remind me of Gullit.

[Hutch]

I read this a while ago, but thought I'd post it here because it's quite simply one of the most pathetically malicious articles I've ever met, with the subtext of "Chelsea stealing Feyenoords Jewel In The Crown":

Chelsea Defy Global Ban & Land Feyenoord SuperStar

Chelsea have yet again found themselves at the centre of a transfer scandal regarding promising youth prospects from the continent.

After the much talked about saga involving Gael Kakuta in 2009 in which the club received a global ban on transfers which was only lifted in February of this year.

It seems the blues have not learned their lesson and the focus of there attention on this occasion is Eredivisie side Feyenoord and their young starlet Nathan Ake. Chelsea have allegedly agreed to sign the 16 year old defender in February after Feyenoord had spent 4 years developing the youngster.

Feyenoord director Leo Beenhakker has promised to take Chelsea to task with FIFA. It is not just Chelsea though who have suffered in his negative outburst.

Beenhakker stated in an interview with Algemeen Dagblad. “What can you do? English clubs are the great white sharks of football. Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea, they’re all in the game.â€

“We had a wonderful deal for Nathan, but the lad wanted only one thing: Chelsea. It’s game over for us.â€

“Premier League clubs spoil the market with their behaviour. Other clubs in Europe aren’t doing these kind of things, but the English sides just don’t care.â€

He added. “I’ve discussed this matter with Nathan and his parents. He told me that he really wanted to move to England and his parents were OK with his decision. I was impressed with Nathan’s determination at such a young age, but it’s bad news for Feyenoord; we can’t do anything about it if a foreign club comes up to sign one of our youngsters.â€

Whether Chelsea have actually done anything that has broken rules is matter of conjecture, as during the Gael Kakuta saga it was claimed that if a player does not have a contract then how can he breach it.

Either way it seems Chelsea’s lawyers are going to be busy this festive period.

LINK

I see. So we've not learned our lesson from the Kakuta case, even though we were found to have done nothing wrong. But let's start with the headline. What global ban are the club supposed to have defied exactly? And we've stolen a superstar - a 15 year old superstar.

It's apparent that whoever put this drivel together is doing his worst to stir things up. "Whether Chelsea have actually done anything that has broken rules is matter of conjecture", he writes. No it's not. The club have done nothing wrong, the player has made up his own mind where he wants to go.

Here's a message to the "author" - if as you say,Chelsea’s lawyers are going to be busy over the festive period, the chances are it'll be to sue YOU you halfwitted sh*t-stirring prick.

[Backbiter]

Quality response, there, Lofty Hutch.

[Hutch]

Should I take that as a compliment?

[dkw]

Should I take that as a compliment?

I would.

[Hutch]

I would.

Fair enough.

[Backbiter]

Should I take that as a compliment?

100%.

[TheWestwayWonder]

Hutch is worth of the accolade, but I myself dont see the similarities. Lofty wouldve called all of Feyenoord c**ts and that wouldve been the end of it

Don't go after us; go after UEFA.

Is exactly right.

I actually dont agree with this practice. But as long as UEFA/FIFA sit on their hands and watch smaller clubs get robbed by slightly bigger ones, and so on up the chain, I see nothing to be guilty about. Yet another problem in the modern game where they refuse to do anything. French, Dutch and Italian clubs have been complaining for years. Watch them give us the Eduardo/Kakuta treatment and then claim its been dealt with. Odious fat jokers.

In fairness, Beenhaaker isnt really having a go at us. Just lashing out at a system which, really, isnt fair to anyone except those at the top who can hoover the players up if theyre good enough. There needs to be some kind of rule change across the board, and more arbitration councils set up to deal with breaching contracts and getting clubs fair market value for players. Just ask Simon Jordan and John Bostock how fair the current mechanisms actually are.

Hutch, where is that joke article from? I didnt even want to click on the link.

[Hutch]

Hutch, where is that joke article from? I didnt even want to click on the link.

http://www.footballtransfertavern.com, a site which for some obscure reason is often linked to from the official site's Rumour Mill.